Buffalo Chicken and Potatoes

Sometimes Game Day Eats should be made for one. And sometimes, they can even be made on a bye week when your team is not playing.   I love a lazy Sunday and I love Buffalo chicken so I decided that I'd bring those two things together.  

This was a Pinterest find (of course) and what drew me to it was that it wasn't just buffalo chicken--but also buffalo potatoes.  Genius. 

Buffalo sauce.  Seriously, I think I would eat shrimp if it was coated in Buffalo sauce.  That might be stretching it, but I absolutely adore that vinegary, spicy goodness.   You can buy the actual Buffalo wing sauce premade or you can buy the Red Hot sauce and mix it with some melted butter and make your own.  Yes, my high school years of working at Shakey's Pizza taught me how to mix butter(they used margarine) and hot sauce to make wing sauce.  I checked a bottle of pre made sauce and the one I picked up used butter flavoring and lots of other ingredients.  I feel better just mixing in my own butter--and you can control the ratio. 

It took a crazy amount of self control and logic to stop myself from eating these raw potatoes with buffalo sauce.  

The other perfect part of this recipe is that it has lots of cheese, bacon and green onions.  

The recipe calls for cooking the potatoes first until they are browned and crispy.  

You then top with raw diced chicken and the cheese and bacon.  It goes back into the oven for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the cheese is bubbly. 

It comes out of the oven as a cheesy, bacony buffalo sauced delicousness.  This might be one of the world's most perfect eats. 

Buffalo Chicken and Potatoes

adapted from Cook Lisa Cook

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 medium potatoes

1/3 cup hot sauce

2 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup melted butter
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 tsp paprika
1 tbsp garlic powder

Topping:
1 cup shredded cheddar jack
5 slices of crispy bacon crumbled
1/2 cup sliced green onions

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees
2. Dice potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes
3. In a large bowl whisk hot sauce, butter, olive oil, pepper,  paprika and garlic powder until well blended and smooth. Add the cubed potatoes and stir to coat. 
4. Use a slotted spoon to transfer potatoes into lightly greased casserole dish or oven proof pan (I used a cast iron pan).   
5. Bake the potatoes for 45-50 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes, until cooked through and crispy & browned on the outside. 
6. While the potatoes are cooking, add the cubed chicken to the bowl with the leftover hot sauce and mix well to ensure evenly coated.  I sprinkled additional hot sauce onto the chicken because I could.   Once the potatoes are brown and crisp on the outside and tender inside, remove from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 400F. 
7. Top the cooked potatoes with the raw chicken. 
8. Return the casserole to the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the topping is bubbly

July 4th Celebrations

Independence Day falls right behind Christmas in the race for my favorite holiday.  Now, nothing can ever compare with Christmas so it's not even a real race, but that's not the 4th of July's fault.   If Christmas wasn't so warm and festive and jolly and snowy and cozy, well, the 4th would easily slide into first place. 

What's not to love?  Flags, americana, sparklers, fireworks, barbecues, parades and watermelon--yes, this is a happy day of the year indeed.  When I lived in NY, my friends and I always had a little 4th of July road trip each year...DC, Boston Pops, Virginia Beach, Philly, NYC...all cities that know how to celebrate the 4th in style. 

This year I was craving a little 4th of July road trip and headed back to America's heartland to visit family in Iowa.  Different kind of feeling than DC, but there's a lot to be said for small town charm. 

This was the first place I have full memories of as a child.  We lived exactly where I am standing to take this photo.  I remember the lake being more massive and well, lake like. Needless to say, I grew up with a fishing pole in my hand--a Snoopy one to be precise.  While the charms of fishing have eluded me since then, there's nothing like visiting old haunts to stir up a little nostalgia. 

And this is just a ways up the road....

I love a great worn barn.

And of course the food part of the post.  This is another Pinterest special--who of us didn't pin the bacon wrapped corn onto one of our boards?  This is one of the few Pinterest pins I've actually executed and it was yummy as bacon always is.  

It did however make a ginormous mess and grease fire in the barbecue.  Just  a little warning for you. 

Hope all who celebrated had a wonderful and safe 4th!

Green Chile Corn Chowder

Was it just last post I was expressing sadness at our piddly Denver snow this season?  I should pay more attention to the news because I woke up this morning to a Winter Storm Warning beeping on my phone....is there any felicity in the world superior to this? (I just watched Sense and Sensibility last night and as is the norm, will quote the movie relentlessly throughout the following week)

Snow = felicity.  Big fat flakes of white snow falling from the sky throughout an entire 

day = happiness  for the soul.  Yes sirree. 

Even Brooklyn thinks so. 

Soup, stew or chili are the standards for snow days right?  I knew I wanted something thick and hearty so opted to throw a pot of chowdah on before heading outside to shovel and let Brooklyn play for 5 minutes before she whined to come back in.  That's how she rolls. 

I love the hearty creaminess of a chowder especially with bites of potatoes and corn.  When I  opened the freezer I saw a few baggies of all the green chiles I'd so painstakingly peeled, chopped and divided up into freezer baggies this past fall.  I am just like Laura Ingalls Wilder, all ready for The Long Hard Winter--if she also happened to have boxes of pre-made chicken broth.  One can only aspire to so much Laura Ingallness. 

By 10 am this morning, we only had 5-6 inches but it's been deliciously snowing all day long.  As predicted, this little one had enough after about 5 minutes and was ready for a long hard day sleeping in front of the fireplace.  

This may have been overkill considering I had corn and green chiles in the chowder, but I wanted to make cornbread with the chowder and remembered  this Pinterest recipe I've been wanting to make for ages: jalapeno cornbread poppers.  I followed the recipe for the most part except that I cooked the jalapenos for 15 minutes at 350 first just to ensure they would cook through and I used a different cornbread mix.  Sometimes mixes are just good. I'd also chopped all of the stems/tops off before I realized that the original recipe still had them on, because you needed to keep the muffin mix contained.  I just pressed the cut edges up against the side of the pan. 

The fantastic part of simmering soup is the smell throughout the house and the building anticipation.  Just a few hours of super slow simmering later, and I had a pretty large pot of sweet, salty, spicy and creamy chowdah.  The cream adds a delicious fabulousness that I think is essential to chowder and 1/2 cup really isn't all that much.  If you don't love the cream, you can also add a can of evaporated milk.  I also prefer to mash up some of my chowder to thicken it rather than thickening it with flour.  The chiles, well they were the absolutely essential--I may just resort to adding the green chiles to chowder moving forward.  

Just in case I didn't say it enough...I LOVE snow days.  Hope your days were toasty oasty!

Green Chile Corn Chowder

Ingredients:

5 slices of bacon diced

1 medium onion, diced

3 medium potatoes

16 oz bag of frozen corn

1 1/2 cup diced roasted anaheim chiles

1 32oz box of chicken broth

2 large chicken breasts 

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

salt to taste

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup sliced green onions plus some for garnish

cilantro for garnish

Directions:

1. Brown diced bacon in a heavy soup/stock pot over medium heat
2. Remove all but 1 tbsp of bacon grease from pot and then add onions to pot.  Sautee for 3 minutes until translucent
3. Add diced potatoes, frozen corn and green chiles. Add garlic and black pepper and stir well
4. Pour chicken broth over veggies.  Add chicken breast and press down to immerse in broth.  
5. Cook over lowest heat for 2 hours (You can also cook this over medium heat for 1/2 hour if you want to make this on a bit more of schedule)
6. Remove chicken to a cutting board and allow to cool for 5 minutes.  
7. Use a potato masher to mash the about 1/2 of the soup.  This will thicken the soup--but make sure to leave half of the potatoes/corn/chiles in chunks. 
8. Dice the chicken and return to pot.  Taste and season with salt.
9. Stir in heavy cream (optional--kind of)
10. Remove from heat and stir in green onions.  
11. Serve garnished with green onions and cilantro

Pumpkin Poppers

The happiest of baking seasons is upon us...fallpumpkinthanksgivingchristmas baking season. It's one of my favorite kitchen seasons of the year and I don't think it's just me.  There's just something about that first turn of the weather that seems to have everyone jumping in the kitchen.  The pinterest pins of fall baking goods seems to have grown exponentially and I'm constantly torn on what to make next. 

When I saw these pumpkin poppers, I knew they were it--no need to keep looking.  They were moist and cinnamonny and perfectly bite sized.  Nothing bad going on here.

They start out as little mini muffins baking in a little mini muffin pan and then when they come out of the oven they are dipped in butter and then cinnamon and sugar.  I'm not going to say no to that. 

Many say they prefer smaller sizes because of the portion control.  I find that small bite size foods cause me to mindlessly eat more.  Case in point...two poppers dipped and placed on the plate.  Two poppers eaten before the next is even rolled.  

These were pretty awesome and definitely a keeper.  I'm already planning the next batch with a swap out of the cinnamon sugar coating for a donut glazed icing.  Thank you Pinterest. 

Pumpkin Poppers

adapted from Domestically Speaking

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (plus 2 tbsp if at high altitude)

2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 pumpkin puree
1/2 cup milk

For cinnamon sugar coating:
1 stick of unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare mini muffin pans.  (I made about 36 mini muffins with this recipe)
2. Whisk together dry ingredients in medium sized bowl.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin and milk.
4. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix gently until it’s just combined
5. Fill mini muffin cups 3/4 full and then bake for 10-12 minutes
6. While they’re baking, melt butter and in a small bowl combine sugar and cinnamon
7. Let the poppers cool for a few minutes and dip in melted butter. Roll immediately in cinnamon and sugar.

Merry Christmas!

Or belated Christmas that is.  Can you believe it's come and gone so quickly? Sad.  And while I intended to take a slight break from blogging over Christmas, I didn't mean for it to be so long.  I woke up sick on Christmas morning like I haven't been in years and spent a few days tucked under some blankets on my mom's couch. Kind of nice to have a few lazy days really. Apologies to the nice gent who got to sit next to me on the short flight that took me from my mom's couch to my own.  Yes, I was one of those people you glare at at the airport but what do you do?

Funny thing about being single and being sick?  I didn't realize I had laryngitis immediately because as it turns out, I don't talk much at home when I'm by myself.  Not sure why that would be a surprise but it really had me thinking that I could actually be silent for the entire day if not for Brooklyn.    

Other than a little sickness, Christmas was phenomenal.  Colorado gave us some beautiful white snow.  I do love snow. 

I was remarkably restrained when it came to taking photos but I did capture the requisite Christmas eve shots of Peanut and Chipmunk...together again.

A one year old and a four year old so enthralled with their new Christmas "laptops." Still cracks me up. 

And Christmas baking was a perfect time to try out some of the Pinterest pins that have just been sitting on my boards. Way too many pins, way too little time.  

Loved the peppermint bark in the shape of snowflakes idea.  Super easy way to crank out treats for all 18 of Brooklyn's Doggie Daycare caregivers.  

Homemade Samoas cookies...these were awesome!  My Girl Scout favs are actually the Tagalongs but Christmas is already a peanut butter treats overload in our house.  If one can really overload on peanut butter.  

And a couple of child friendly treats to make... Rolo Pretzel Turtles and Melted Snowman Cookies.  Love Pinterest.

Hope your Christmas was as blessed and merry!

Homemade Butterfinger Bars

These are outrageous.  As in, I couldn't believe it was true so I had to try it, outrageous.  Candy corn.  You know the stuff--the sickeningly sweet holiday treat that tons of people must adore judging by the sheer volume that is in stores each year.  I'm pretty indifferent in the "candy corn or no candy corn?" debates that happen but when I saw this recipe, I bought a bag because you have to try right?

I saw this on Pinterest btw, and I might just change my blog name to "Chasing all Things Pinterest," because that  about sums up my life these days.  I have recipes lined up, outfits to buy, and even a grown up Barbie Dream House to decorate with the ideas found on Pinterest.  Love it despite its ability to make me feel uncreative and completely inadequate in all areas.  That's just motivation right?  To give credit where credit is due, here's the pin linking back to the original recipe.

So for these homemade butterfinger bars, you melt 1 lb of candy corn.  Seriously.  Who is the first person who thought that melting candy corn would be a good idea?  Melt it too long and the sugar becomes a little stiff.  I melted in 15 second bursts in the microwave and it still went from solid candy corn to melted orange goo in a blink of an eye.  Bright orange goo. Mine was a bit stiff, but I threw the 1 lb of Peanut Butter in, mixed as well as I could, and microwaved for an additional 15 seconds.

Eventually it all stirs together and you press into an 8inch square pan lined with parchment or wax paper.  Let cool. 

The recipe calls for dipping in chocolate bark.  I opted for real dark chocolate and there was no dipping involved, only spreading.  20 seconds to spread vs all that dipping.  And since these are homemade, don't you want them to say "homemade" and not look just like the store bought kind?  :) 

I thought these tasted just like a Butterfinger, but truth be told, I don't think I've had a Butterfinger anytime in the last decade.  I read a review that said that while the taste was spot on, the texture was slightly off--a bit chewy and not crunchy. As it turns out, I left mine in the fridge, and maybe because I zapped the candy corn longer than I should have(or maybe not), or probably just because they were cold, these turned out pretty crispy crumbly.  Pretty crazy I tell you. Candy corn.  Really.  Who thinks of these things?!?!